UEFA orders penalties for in-area handballs after Barcelona’s Atletico Madrid row

UEFA has instructed referees to award a penalty whenever a player handles the ball inside his own penalty area during open play, following controversy surrounding Barcelona’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atletico de Madrid.

The guidance was issued as a reminder of the law after an incident involving Atletico de Madrid defender Marc Pubill during the 2025-26 Champions League quarter-final at Camp Nou on 8 April.

With Atletico taking a free-kick, goalkeeper Juan Musso passed the ball to Pubill, who stopped it with his right hand inside the penalty area. No penalty was awarded, despite the handball occurring during a phase of active play.

Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported that UEFA’s instruction did not directly address the wider refereeing controversy from the match, involving Hungarian referee Istvan Kovacs and the video assistant referee team led by Germany’s Christian Dingert.

However, the message made clear that the relevant point in the laws should not be subject to differing interpretations. In similar circumstances, officials are expected to award a penalty.

Barcelona were already 1-0 down when the incident occurred and went on to lose the match 2-0. Their manager, Hansi Flick, expressed strong frustration afterwards.

“For this type of situation specifically, we have VAR. It should have been a second yellow card and a penalty,” said Flick.

Atletico de Madrid manager Diego Simeone defended the decision not to award a spot-kick.

“No penalty was given applying common sense,” he said.

UEFA’s clarification is intended to ensure greater consistency if a comparable handball occurs in a future match. The issue has been complicated by different decisions in similar incidents in recent European competitions.

A penalty was awarded when Club Brugge faced Aston Villa during the 2024-25 season. By contrast, a comparable handball was not punished in the Arsenal against Bayern Munich match in spring 2024, nor was it given as a penalty during Barcelona’s meeting with Atletico de Madrid at Camp Nou.

The latest controversy means Atletico de Madrid have been involved in a disputed refereeing decision in the Champions League for the second consecutive summer.

During the last-16 tie in the 2024-25 competition, Julian Alvarez had a goal ruled out in the penalty shootout that ultimately sent Real Madrid through. The decision was taken because the Atletico forward was judged to have touched the ball twice in succession while taking his kick.

Several months later, UEFA clarified how referees should deal with a similar incident in future shootouts. If a player makes an accidental double touch and the ball subsequently enters the goal, the penalty should be retaken from the spot.

The latest handball instruction follows the same effort to remove ambiguity from decisions that have previously produced different outcomes. While UEFA’s wording does not explicitly state that Barcelona were wronged in the Camp Nou match, it confirms that a handball of the type highlighted in the incident should result in a penalty.